


Vanilla Lattes (and one Americano)

by epistemology



Series: The Official Gotham City Bat Cafe [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Don't Post To Another Site, M/M, Not Beta Read, POV Outsider, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24343123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epistemology/pseuds/epistemology
Summary: Amanda wanted to know what was going on with them so badly, but it wasn’t her place, was it? Red Robin had told her to drop it when she’d asked him.Amanda meets Hood (and hardcore ships it).
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Series: The Official Gotham City Bat Cafe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688404
Comments: 13
Kudos: 181





	Vanilla Lattes (and one Americano)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to ArchTroop for reminding me that this series existed and giving me an excuse not to look at my Bang fic:)

The vigilantes walked in when Amanda’s only regular was there, an old man who came on odd nights in a cable knit sweater and a newsie cap and sat in the corner booth reading and drinking cup after cup of English breakfast tea. She wondered if he even existed in the daytime.

Thankfully he didn’t react much to the new customers, only paused his reading to frown a little at all the noise they were making.

The vigilantes that had come were a mix of new and familiar faces. Red Robin and Batgirl entered first, followed by Nightwing, who was dragging a very unenthused looking Red Hood behind him. Or at least, Amanda thought he looked unenthused, what with the way Nightwing was forcefully pulling him into the cafe, but the helmet didn’t give much away in the emotions department.

They all clambered into one booth, which resulted in Hood falling half on top of Nightwing as the other pulled him down with no regard for decorum. If Amanda noticed the subtle way Hood tensed and moved away, it was certainly not because she was watching those two especially closely. Red Robin had never fully answered her questions during their first encounter.

She thought about making her way over to their table, but Luke beat her to it and was already taking their orders and chatting them up like old friends. She let herself fester in her disappointment for only a moment - she’d never met Red Hood before - and then busied herself making another cup of English breakfast. The old man’s cup was getting low, and he was bound to ask for a refill soon.

Her eyes flicked back and forth between the old man and the vigilantes as she made it, taking longer than she normally would and trying to keep pace with how quickly he was draining his tea. On the other side of the room, Luke looked like he was finishing up a conversation.

She finally took the mug of English breakfast out, receiving not even a thank you, and returned right as Luke did.

“Three vanilla lattes and an Americano,” he said as he slid behind the counter. Amanda took stock of him moving towards the espresso machine, so she got started on the lattes. The two of them had a good system going.

“They look pretty beat up,” she commented, looking away from her work to gauge Luke’s expression.

He chuckled, shoulders bouncing in time with the laugh. “Yeah, they’ve had a hard night, I guess. Didn’t ask.”

“Isn’t that a health hazard? They’re bleeding all over the booth!”

“Aren’t you more worried about the fact that they’re hurt and came here instead of going home or wherever?”

“Eh, they can handle it,” she waved away. “It just means we have extra cleaning to do when they leave.”

Luke must have sensed the annoyance in her voice because he pointed out that she “had the option to go over there and chew them out for it, if she wanted.”

Amanda figured she might as well.

Tray of drinks in hand, she marched over with as much determination as she could muster but set the cups down gingerly, only because she didn’t want to have to clean them up if they spilled. A small chorus of “Thanks” resounded from everyone, Hood’s coming out with a hum that let her know his voice was modified through that helmet.

She cocked a hip. “You guys really planning on bleeding all over my shop all night?”

They clearly hadn’t expected that reaction, and Nightwing, at least, had the decency to look ashamed. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, still too scared of him to look at him directly.

“Sorry, Amanda,” Red Robin said passively, but he was too busy checking the drinks until he found his own. 

It wasn’t like it was a big deal, so she rolled her eyes playfully and smiled to let them know she wasn’t mad. A little blood on the booth was the price of meeting the Bats, apparently.

“Pull up a chair!” she heard Batgirl call as she turned away, right as Luke walked up with a chair of his own.

Oh, what the hell.

Amanda positioned hers right next to Luke at the end of the booth; it was a tad squashed, but they made it work.

“You’ve met everyone here but Hood, right?” Nightwing asked, directing it at both of them. Luke had never mentioned meeting Red Hood, so Amanda had always assumed he’d never shown up before.

“Yep,” Luke answered for both of them, and Hood raised a gloved hand in greeting. He didn’t say anything.

“So, how was Gotham tonight?” Amanda asked the table, trying to start conversation, and received what were probably eyerolls in response. Batgirl launched into a story - she’d come to the shop a few times before, and Amanda liked her a lot - but Amanda, as usual, was more focused on watching the vigilantes.

Red Robin had finished his Americano already, and he sat leaning forward with his arms folded on the table. His uniform was littered with small tears, and a trickle of dried blood ran down his cheek. She itched to wash it off.

Nightwing and Red Hood sat on the other side, Hood leaning into the corner in a show of casualness. One arm was stretched across the back of the booth, but his hand stayed a careful few inches away from Nightwing’s shoulders. He was smaller than she’d expected, but then again, she’d heard way too many stories about the Red Hood, and most had a tendency to exaggerate his more obvious qualities. Even so, he was the biggest of them, including Luke, who was not a small man. Hood exuded a kind of dangerously relaxed power, like an animal lying in wait. The helmet hid his face and his drink sat untouched. Maybe she should get him a lid.

The door opened and then closed. English breakfast man had left, but Amanda didn’t turn to look.

Nightwing was telling a story now, and she let herself look at him. If he was talking, then it gave her an excuse to stare without being weird.

She hadn’t seen him since that first night with Robin, but he seemed different now. She guessed it was the company. Sure, he’d had Robin then, but this time he acted more like a man hanging out with his friends. She was positive he could still kill her without breaking a sweat and could probably also beat the other Bats in a fight (she wasn’t sure about Hood, but there was no way Red Robin or Batgirl could beat Nightwing), but he seemed a little more carefree this time, lighter.

He said something that must have been funny, because everyone laughed. Amanda laughed too, just in case. She was more focused on the way Nightwing was leaning into Hood, as if he wanted to rest his head on his shoulders. She waited to see if he would, but even when the moment could have been considered right, he never did.

Stories were passed around. Red Robin had a turn, and then Batgirl had another. Hood rarely spoke, and when he did, it was to Nightwing alone. Amanda wanted to know what was going on with them so badly, but it wasn’t her place, was it? Red Robin had told her to drop it when she’d asked him.

By the time they’d left, filing out the door one by one like the little girls from _Madeline_ , Amanda had spent more time observing Nightwing and Red Hood than listening to anything that had been said. The two of them were a popular ship online, one of the most popular of the many different combinations of Bats that were shipped.

Amanda got out her phone and checked Instagram. There were plenty of well-known accounts dedicated to the Bats, both in general and for specific relationships. A few of her friends followed some, and her roommate was almost certainly a cape watcher. She’s seen the pictures on that girl’s computer.

Amanda idly scrolled until she found an account devoted to “NightHood” and, after a moment’s hesitation, clicked follow.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](https://epistemologys.tumblr.com/)


End file.
